Riser Phenex, tall, with bright yellow hair and wearing a red suit, lazily propped himself up from his Queen's lap. "So... you want me to go to the human world and pressure Rias, then?"
Leval Phenex looked at his third younger brother, and his youngest sister, Ravel, beside him, and said calmly, "If you cannot make Rias yield within these two months, the family won't be able to provide you with assistance after the Three Factions Conference."
"Yes, yes~ I understand. I'll take a trip after the next Rating Game."
Riser scratched his messy, yellow hair. "I remember it's at the Gremory family's academy... what was it called, O-Academy?"
Ravel, with her golden drill-style twin tails, scoffed. "It's Private Kuoh Academy, you idiot."
In another part of the Underworld, far from the Four Great Pure-Blooded Devil families, almost on the border, others were also anxious because the Three Factions Conference was about to begin.
"Maria, hurry to the human world and find Mio."
The voluptuous succubus, Sheila, with white hair and curved ram horns, urgently told her younger daughter.
Maria Naruse, who looked seven-tenths similar to Sheila but with a much smaller, childlike physique, asked in confusion, "Why the sudden rush?"
"After your father, Wilbert, passed away, those people intended to move against Mio. They were only hesitant due to the current Devil King and the regulations of the Four Great Families..."
Sheila lowered her voice, speaking cautiously as if afraid of being overheard.
"Now that the Three Factions Conference is about to begin, if they don't act now, they'll completely lose their chance. After peace is established, the Devil Kings will strictly investigate internal conflicts like this. Besides, once the Gremory family stabilizes, we can seek their protection."
"The Gremory family?" Maria looked at her mother blankly. "Does that noble family have any connection to ours?"
"They have no connection to me, but your father and Mio's father, Wilbert, had a very close relationship with the Gremory family when he was a Devil King. You could say their fortunes were tied together."
Sheila didn't continue. In fact, the weakening of the Gremory family's power was highly related to Wilbert's sudden death.
The specific reason remains unknown. Wilbert's mistress, Sheila, doesn't know. Sirzechs and Rias don't know either.
Sheila has actually maintained contact with Gremory, and their relationship remains good.
It's just that both sides have been facing major troubles, leading to infrequent communication over the years.
Just as Maria Naruse quietly went to the human world to search for her half-sister, Mio Naruse, as instructed by her mother, Sheila, the constantly restless Zest has also begun dispatching his subordinates.
"Zest, Lars, you two also prepare. If the initial attempt fails, it will be your turn to act."
Lars, a masked Devil, took a breath and slowly said, "Zest-sama, why not let us handle it directly?"
"Lars, do I need to explain my actions to you?"
The emaciated Zest, clearly nearing the end of his lifespan, spoke with a raspy voice, a massive wave of magic power rushing towards Lars.
Lars grunted, stumbling back several steps. He knelt on one knee. "My deepest apologies, Zest-sama."
"Hmph!" Zest snorted angrily, turning and walking into the darkness.
Once Zest's presence disappeared, Lars slowly clenched his fists, filled with deep resentment but powerless.
Tall and voluptuous Zest, with purple stripes on her face, glanced at him, then strode away, unconcerned.
Due to the Three Factions Conference, individuals with various hidden agendas in the Underworld were becoming restless. The same was true in the Fallen Angel and God factions; even the Hero Faction was affected, with various countermeasures being activated.
May 9th, the second phase of Ethan's group's special training began.
The first phase of cultivation went surprisingly smoothly.
Thanks to the information collected from the Fallen Angels and the training methods provided by Azazel, those with Fallen Angel blood—Akeno Himejima, Yuma Amano, Mittelt, and Kalawarner—further strengthened their power.
Akeno Himejima was even on the verge of breaking through to S-class on her own.
Yuma Amano's trio also finally saw the possibility of a breakthrough. It was estimated that they could achieve a breakthrough as soon as they engaged in Dual Cultivation with Ethan a few times to raise their magic power.
The other person whose strength soared was Asia.
The blonde little nun's magic power aptitude was indeed impressive. Although she wasn't specialized in combat, with Rias's guidance, her power reached B-class. Coupled with the healing ability of her Sacred Gear, her combat capability was comparable to an average A-class Devil.
Koneko Toujou and Yuto Kiba were melee fighters, and Ethan was responsible for training them these days.
Around this time last year, Ethan was still enduring the white-haired LOLI's 'torment.' He couldn't believe he had the chance for 'revenge' so soon.
Under Ethan's 'revenge,' Koneko Toujou's power also improved rapidly. Some of her Nekomata bloodline potential was even unlocked.
She had no choice; if she didn't unlock it to increase her flexibility and speed, Ethan would take advantage of the 'guidance' to thoroughly play with her body.
Yuto Kiba's swordsmanship improved significantly with Ethan's guidance, but there wasn't much progress in the magical aspect—that is, mastering the strange energy within her body.
It wasn't that Ethan didn't want to help, but aside from his combat prowess, his knowledge was about the same as Asia's, who was a newcomer.
If Rias couldn't figure it out, he dared not mess around.
And definitely not because every time they got close, Yuto Kiba's demeanor and actions gave him goosebumps.
These days, Ethan and Rias didn't neglect their own cultivation either.
In addition to Dual Cultivation at night, they sparred during the day, familiarizing themselves with the combat intensity of SS-class individuals.
Purely in terms of magic, Ethan was slightly inferior to Rias because repeated Dual Cultivation allowed Rias's magic power to gradually catch up to his.
Of course, he had also acquired the [Destruction] ability.
However, with similar power levels, Rias was clearly more proficient in magic combat, while Ethan's combat talent was primarily focused on melee.
His Martial Arts had been stuck at S-class for a long time. The breakthrough in magic power didn't lead to a simultaneous breakthrough in Martial Arts as he had expected.
Ethan had no intention of abandoning Martial Arts, but because his Devil bloodline was complete, he had to temporarily set it aside to rapidly increase his power.
In fact, he was already getting some vague ideas.
During his battle with Azazel, he touched the threshold of the God-level through Balance Breaker. At the time, he felt that for Martial Arts to transform into Immortal Arts, a crucial step was missing in between.
It was like a mortal aiming for Immortality; there must be a vital intermediary step; it couldn't be achieved in one go.
Once he found that missing piece, Immortal Arts would no longer be just a dream.
May 15th, Rias summoned everyone early in the morning.
"The second phase of training is over. I'm considering whether we should extend the special training."
She rested her hands on her chin and slowly asked, "What are your thoughts?"
After the second phase of training, everyone, including Yuto Kiba, was on the verge of a breakthrough, except for Asia.
But progressing from A-class to S-class, while not as difficult as a qualitative leap in life essence, wasn't easy either.
If they relied solely on their own efforts, it could take three days with good luck, or three years with bad luck.
"Let's continue." Yuma Amano urgently responded. "President, you've monopolized Akira for so many days. It's our turn now."
It had been agreed before the training that they couldn't engage in Dual Cultivation with Ethan except at critical moments. However, Rias, as the President, naturally had privileges, and only her power level could still benefit Ethan through Dual Cultivation.
"Alright, but only one person at a time."
Rias squinted at Yuma Amano's trio, whose breathing suddenly quickened. "I don't want this special training to turn into an ORGY."
Yuma Amano, Mittelt, and Kalawarner exchanged glances, hiding their disappointment.
They usually cultivated with Ethan as a trio, which was very stimulating. Many of the techniques and sensations simply couldn't be experienced in a one-on-one session.
Since Rias had stated it clearly, they had no choice but to comply.
Hmm, occasionally having a pure, one-on-one session and monopolizing his affection for an entire night didn't sound bad either.
This thought spontaneously occurred to all three of them.
"Akeno, Koneko, you two make your own decision."
Rias looked at the two who hadn't spoken, solemnly stating, "You must think carefully, don't do anything you'll regret later."
The girls' feelings for Ethan were an open secret among them, differing only in degree.
For example, Yuma Amano's trio's love for Ethan was only a quarter of their motivation. The other three-quarters were the addictive pleasure of intimacy, the benefits of the Dual Cultivation ability, and the admiration for a powerful figure.
Rias's affection was pure love, but perhaps the romantic love wasn't as prevalent as her protective and caring love for a cherished servant.